When I went in to work on Sunday 9/14/14, imagine how thrilled this rail-fan was to find this flier hanging in the kitchen of my unit, that was from the Union Pacific Railroad, inviting Law Enforcement employees for a ride with them the following morning, to take in a presentation on rail safety from Operation Lifesaver http://oli.org/ . I had met some of their volunteers a couple other times this year. The first was at the Midwest Toy & Train Show at the KCI Expo Center back in March. The next was meeting John Sulzer at Parkville Days about a month ago and had been tossing around the idea of becoming a volunteer.

I loved how the location the ride would start at was just minutes from my home, and was early enough on 9/15/14, I could get it in before my shift that evening. When I arrived at the 2300 Manchester site, I met up with other folks that would be going on the ride as well from MODOT, KC Scout and the Union Pacific Police.

While we waited for our transportation to arrive, I was able to take photos like these.

And some video like this

What I want you to notice is-these are a prime example of why responsible rail-fan behavior is an important part of overall rail safety. They were taken from a safe distance. We were even visited by an example of why it is not smart to be on railroad property where you don’t belong. Then, our train soon arrived in the form of this beautiful Locomotive Union Pacific Flag Unit straight out of GE, pulling passenger cars.

Gotta love that sound! We all soon boarded and once we found our choice of seats, we were given an Operation Lifesaver presentation by Julie Lacombe -Executive Director of Operation Lifesaver-Kansas.

Judy Le from Fox 4 News was also on the ride with us and had this article on their site later in the day.

I was able to take these shots (just a few of many I took along the way. I was in train heaven!

This was 90 minutes well spent as myself and my fellow passengers not only got to enjoy all this, but I was convinced that being an Operation Lifesaver Volunteer and helping get the all-important life-saving message they share out, was definitely an immediate goal. I have since submitted and had my application approved, and completed their online classroom, and am awaiting the next step in the training process! I will keep you posted on my progress in this area! Why not join me?

Again, my thanks to the Union Pacific Railroad, Operation Lifesaver, and my employer for their cooperative efforts in making this Rail Safety Ride a reality for all of us that took part! I hope they will continue events like this in the future! They are definitely helping to leave important Legacies……On The Rails!!